Table



(No Model.) I

. N. N GORDON.

I FOLDING TABLE. No. 316,142.. Patented Apr. 21, 1885.

n. Penna PhoXo-Llllwgnphcr. Wavhiugton. o. c.

NITEEDY STATES NORMAN GORDON, on ROCHESTER,

NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR on ONE-HALF TO RUDOLPH LIOHTENSTEIN, OF SAME PLACE.

FOLDING TABLE.

arnczrzcarron forming part of Letters Patent No. 316,142, dated April21, 1885.

Application filed May 8, 1884. (No model.)

I 0 all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, NORMAN N. GORDON, of Rochester, in the county ofMonroe and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Folding Tables, which improvement is fully set forth in the followingspecification and accompanying drawings.

The object of my invention is to produce a cheap wooden table for use onlawns, picnic and pleasure grounds, in kitchens, and workshops, &c.,said table being constructed with a folding top,which,when folded orclosed,constitutes a close box, in which to contain the removable legsand other detachable parts of the table, thus forming altogether aconvenient package for handling, storing, and transportation; and theinvention consists of parts constructed and combined as hereinafterfully described, and more particularly pointed out in the claim.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is an end elevation of the tablewith the crossed legs in place under the folding top board; Fig. 2, aside elevation of the same, showing more clearly the tierod for thelegs. Fig. 3 shows the under side of the top board of the table with thelegs and tie-rod taken down and placed in the hollow or cavity of thetop board. Fig. 4 shows the whole when packed and folded for storage ortransportation; and Fig. 5,drawn to alarger scale, shows the manner inwhich the upper points of the legs are formed and se cured to thetopboard of the table.

Referring to the figures, A is the top board of the table, which isdivided longitudinally into two parts, b and cl, along the line a, saidparts being joined by flexible hinges c 0, permitting the parts I) and dto be folded upon each other or closed, as shown in Fig. 4. Each of theparts b and d of the top board is formed with a cavity or hollow, 9. Asshown in the drawings, each of these cavities is formed by securingstrips of wood or rails i, of equal width and thickness, at the edges ofand to the under side of the thin board f, which forms the upper part ormember of the top board of the table. The cavities g g are formed in theparts I) and d of the top board, so as to register and form a singlesymmetrical cavity or interior of the box when the parts are folded, asabove stated.

The legs h consist of four strips of wood, beveled at their ends andmade to cross each other in pairs under the top board of the table in amanner that is common. The upper ends of the legs support the top of thetable and the lower ends rest upon the ground with a longitudinaltie-rod, k, passing through the legs at the points at which theyintersect each other in pairs.

The tie-rod I prefer to m akc of gas-pipe, for the sake of lightness,and it may be secured to thelegs in any convenient manner. As shown, theends of the pipe are threaded to receive thumb screw nuts 0 e,which,whenturned forward, press the respective pairs of legs against fixed collarsn on the pipe. The upper ends of the legs Iprefer to provide with metaltips 0, as shown in Fig. 5, the points of which en ter cavities or restsr, Fig. 3, formed in the rails i of the top board beneath simple plates8, embedded in the rails in position to cover said cavities, one ofwhich plates being omitted from Fig. 3 to expose the cavity beneath. Thetips 0 of the legs fit snugly in the respective cavities or rests 1"under the plates thereof, and when the legs are thus put in place andthe thumb-nuts set tightly against them, as above specified, they areheld firmly together, rendering the whole table comparatively strong andunyielding. Simple longitudinal braces to stiffen the table may beinserted, if necessary, having bearings against the rails of the topboard of the table and the legs.

The dimensions of the legs, tie-rod, and other detachable parts of thetable are such that they all may be inclosed in the space 9 of the topboard, A, as shown, and the top board folded into a convenient packageor box to inclose said loose parts, and looked, as repre sented in Fig.4, for storing, handling, or transportation.

A simple transverse rod, 1), passed through the rails in holesuunder theboards f, as shown, prevents the parts I) and d of the table fromfolding when the latter is erected for use. This rod is withdrawn andplaced in the box formed by the folded parts I) and d of the table withthe other detachable parts when the 5 table is taken down and packed forstoring or transportation. 7

What I claim as my invention is- A folding table having the top boarddivided longitudinally along its center, and pro- IO vided with stripsi, secured to the under surfaces of the two parts of the top board alongthe sides and ends thereof, the two parts being joined by hinges attheline of division

